This is extremely unnerving,…

This is extremely unnerving, as it poses to end my career as an archaeologist in Ontario and violate the rights of Indigneous Peoples and their cultures. There should not be an exemption of properties to further development, there should be targeted changes to government bodies holding up the archaeological process. Archaeology as an industry is not slowing development, it’s the reporting process and the asinine changes the MCM is making, without communication, resulting in reporting kick back for administrative issues - NOT ALWAYS BECAUSE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROCESS. This then results in longer timelines for developers before they can move to the next part of the process.

By essentially removing archaeology as an industry, thousands of jobs will be lost, companies will go under and we then feed the rich into becoming richer. In an economy where the middle class is already flailing, you pose to make that divide worse. You remove the rights of Indigenous Communities, and their participation in the archaeological process. Cause many Indigenous peoples to lose their jobs and livelihood, while resulting in an erasure of indigenous peoples from Ontario history.

The MCM and their ARO’s have implemented changes without communication to the archaeological community and license holders. They are holding up the reporting process, overreaching their authority to determine the archaeological potential of areas outside of what it being reported. They are flagging administrative issues within reports, and causing undue delays in the reporting process. They cannot stick to the screening or reviewing timelines, causing clients and developers to wait YEARS for clearances. The problem is not archaeology. Archaeologists work as mediators between Indigenous communities and Proponents to understand and facilitate the archaeological practice with respect to Indigenous culture and heritage. It is an important role, and one that should not be removed.